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It is amazing how dishonest people are today – there is dishonesty in marketing – advertisers portray certain things in their advertising in order to get you to buy their products – the package might say “no cholesterol” or “no fat” but those statements are misleading – you think you are eating something healthy when in fact they have added something in place of the product that has been removed that is just as bad if not worse – another good example is the phrase “enriched flour” – they have removed all the nutrients and then added back four things to “enrich” what is left – the “enriched flour” is anything but enriched; it is a highly refined carbohydrate with a high glycemic index which turns to sugar in your body.

Politicians are also dishonest – we now have the Affordable Care Act – affordable is exactly what the act is not – we have the Privacy Act – and as you have seen privacy is the one thing that we don’t have – we have the Fair Housing Act and the Community Reinvestment Act and how many people lost their homes and how many communities are bankrupt? We have the Paperwork Reduction Act – I told my secretary when that one was passed, “Buy another filing cabinet” – these days you can “take it to the bank” that if they call it one thing, it is absolutely the opposite.

Of course, you should have known that the closer we get to the coming of the Lord the more people will say one thing and mean the exact opposite – 1 The 5:3, “When they shall say, Peace and safety: then sudden destruction cometh upon them” – Is 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – Ps 55:21, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.”

You get so used to seeing this dishonesty in others that you can hardly tell that you have become dishonest. People ask, “How are you?” and you reply, “Fine,” when you aren’t. A telemarketer calls and asks to speak with someone in your home who is home and you say, “He’s not here right now.” Someone asks your opinion about something and you lie so they won’t know what you really think. Paul said, “Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.”

Be truthful with the Lord – it is uncanny how deceitful Christians can be with the Lord – for instance, if you are bitter, the probability is 99:100 that you are mad at God – but you will never admit it – and until you do you aren’t going to get over your bitterness – here is another case – you are sinning but you have found a way to justify your behavior by making out like God doesn’t mind.

Be truthful with yourself – again it is strange how deceitful people can be with themselves – they will say things to themselves like “I wasn’t mad” – “I didn’t want to harm so and so” – “I don’t care what ‘they’ think” – when you say those kinds of things to yourself, you might want to consider that you are talking like a politician – you mean just the opposite of what you are saying – this is a big deal in AA – here’s another case – you know something someone is doing [like sexual misconduct, or abuse] – in your dishonesty with yourself you have some how justified not reporting him – be honest; you have to report it.

Be truthful with your spouse – there is so much posturing in marriage – spouses are afraid to communicate – they carry stuff inside all the time and these things that they refuse to talk over keep them in distress – the problem is that most spouses don’t trust each other enough to be 100% truthful – so they lie about where they are – they lie about why they are late – they lie about their intentions – they lie about their opinions – they lie about what’s bothering them – they lie to cover their faults – they lie to make the other one feel better – they lie about their love – and on and on.

Be truthful with your children – it is amazing how parents talk with their children – they try to encourage them by making them think that they are better than they really are – or they may shame them into thinking that they are horrible – relationships are built on trust and if you are lying to your kids they will pick up on it immediately and you will never gain their trust – if you make a promise to your child you don’t keep, you have lied to him – if you warn your child that you will punish him for misbehaving and you don’t punish him, you have lied to him.

Be truthful with your employer – own your own mistakes – don’t lie about your hours – don’t lie about an illness – don’t lie about the use of the company vehicle – don’t lie on the expense report – don’t lie about talking with a competitor – don’t lie about your employer to someone else – don’t lie about anything – and if you have to lie to get away with it then don’t do it!!!

Be truthful with you friends – tell your friends the truth all the time – don’t lie to one when talking about another – don’t exaggerate the truth – don’t tell something on someone that is not 100% accurate [best not to tell it at all] – use this rule of thumb – what I am saying can be repeated with my name on it.

Be truthful with everybody at all times – never lie and you will never have to remember who you told – never do anything that you would have to lie about – never embellish a story – never flatter – never pretend like the hypocritical Pharisees did – Jesus said to them, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do… he is a liar, and the father of it,” [Jn 8:44].